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The San Francisco-based War and Law League has just released a survey of this year's presidential candidates, who are actively questioning whether the U.S. is now conducting an illegal war in Iraq that should be ended or properly authorized immediately. Or least that was the basic position taken by the only three candidates to respond: Democrats Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards and Republican Ron Paul. Read more »

This is what happens when you privatize a public asset. It's hard to imagine that the spirit of the Presidio Trust Act would have allowed for this kind of new construction in a National Park, where the emphasis is supposed to be the preservation of the natural environment and historic uses of the 1,491 acres. Where does contemporary art owned by Gap founder Don Fisher fit into that mandate? Read more »

Of course Gavin Newsom knew that a budget problem was ahead. He sees the figures. He also knows that it's not about the economy or the looming recession; as Controller Ed Harrington put it, "our revenues here in the city are doing fine."

That is, the revenue is on track, on budget, as predicted.

The problem is that the revenue San Francisco brings in isn't enough for the level of spending. Read more »

The attack by a homeless person on a 26-year-old German exchange student was horrific by any standard. A violent act by a possibly deranged person now charged with attempted rape shouldn't be seen as any sort of reflection on homelessness in San Francisco; it was just awful.

But when C. W. Nevius starts talking about too many homeless people appearing in the Sunset, he needs to start a bit of self-reflection. Read more »

Now this is truly outrageous: a local blog called Bikescape has unearthed a Bay Area Air Quality Management District memo banning employees from using bicycles while carrying out their duties of promoting clean air. The memo states, "While biking to work is an option that the District supports, employees are not to ride their bikes in the course of their work duties. Read more »

A Republican initiative that would split California's electoral vote and almost certainly give the White House to the GOP is still alive, according to the Brad Blog, which has a remarkable interview with one of the measure's chief backers.

Anthony F. Andrade Jr. told the blog's Brad Freidman that the measure could still make the June ballot. Read more »

Everyone gets all misty about kids. They're the future and our greatest natural resource, blah, blah, blah -- or so they say. That's why voters placed Prop. H a few years ago, which sent tens of millions of dollars in city money over to the school district. But are we willing to actually listen to what young people have to say? Because they have some pretty good ideas sometimes. Read more »

In stories on the $229 million budget deficit that San Francisco could be facing next year, both the Chronicle and the Examiner used the same telling quote from Mayor Gavin Newsom's press secretary, Nathan Ballard: "Although he wants to trim the fat, the mayor made it abundantly clear he doesn't want to see a r Read more »